As of today, January 22, the need for Covid Digital Certs proving vaccination or recovery for indoor dining will no longer be needed.
With case numbers on the decline and over 2.6 million booster doses administered, NPHET and the government made the decision to head towards pre-pandemic life from this weekend.
While many people are celebrating the news, an Irish expert of Immunology has spoken out about the drop in restrictions, saying one particular aspect could prove to be a 'mistake.'
Professor of Experimental Immunology at Trinity College Dublin Kingston Mills said that although he is happy with the easing of restrictions in general, he is "surprised" at the speed at which they have been scrapped.
He referenced the fact that certs will no longer be needed for indoor activities and said this, in particular, could cause issues.
Speaking on RTE's Saturday with Katie Hannon, he said one reason for this is that "if we ease all restrictions now and don't get prepared for something further, we are going to be in trouble."
He also said people should be wary of the fact that a new strain of the virus has been detected in Denmark and that Ireland needs to be prepared to cope with that.
Should it arrive here, there would need to be strategies in place to slow its spread as he said this variant is looking like it is more transmissible than Omicron.
Despite the current celebrations for the change in rules, Professor Mills said he imagines the new variant will become significant in the future.
